Monday, February 27, 2017

This is a helpful book which uses anecdotes and stories from the Bible and real life to get people back on the right track. Van Moody has a theory that people who crash and burn or just fail at life generally have a problem with their 'I-Factor'. This 'I-Factor' is about managing yourself and your life well.

Moody includes chapters on the importance of finding your identity, regaining your passion and forgiving yourself and others. He provides examples of how people have done this and gives wise advice. This is an extremely religious book which emphasizes prayer and faith, so it may not be suitable for everyone. I found it quite useful and inspiring.

This is a great book, especially for those who want to declutter. Anne Watson provides excellent advice, such as to start with small projects and keep your goal in mind. She also advises readers to forget perfection and not to be too hard on themselves.

This book will actually make you feel energised and ready to begin! I also like the amusing dialogues with imaginary perfectionists and the cute animal figures on her helpful website.

I received this ebook from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Betty Rapinchuk writes that readers will not feel overwhelmed by her method of cleaning and this is certainly true. She writes that it is 'easy, seamless and simple'. Remember when washing was done on Mondays and roasts were cooked on Sundays? This method is probably based on that old-fashioned but useful scenario. Every day of the week has a task and Friday is catching-up day! There are also weekly cleaning tasks.

Betty provides guidelines for doing each task and she also gives you a checklist of materials to buy to clean each room, which is very useful. For example, there is a bathroom cleaning caddy, a dusting caddy and even a seasonal cleaning caddy. There are also useful tips, such as keeping makeup in a basket in the bathroom and keeping baskets for magazines and mail.

This book will certainly help those with young children, pack-rats and people who are generally messy.

I received this free eBook from Edelweiss in return for an honest review.

Simply Clean The Proven Method for Keeping Your Home Organized, Clean, and Beautiful in Just 10 Minutes a Day by Becky Rapinchuk

Beryl Bainbridge reimagines Captain Scott's expedition to Antarctica on the Terra Nova in this novel, through the eyes of most of the men. Her ability to put herself into the minds of such different characters as Birdie and Captain Scott is brilliant, and her descriptions of Antarctica are irradiant. However, this is an extremely harrowing story and difficult to read. I also thought that she was quite hard on Captain Scott - she takes a dim view of his capricious character, his tendency towards depression and his blaming his mistakes onto others. She also criticises the team's inexpertise on skis and Scott's mistrust of dogs.

I especially liked her descriptions of the wive's characters and the rivalry between them, especially the rather intimidating Kathleen Scott, whose fame as a sculptress has sadly been eclipsed by her husband's ill-fated journey. Ever since I saw her sculpture of Captain Scott at Christchurch (and I was lucky enough to see that gorgeous city before the earthquake), I have been interested in reading more about her.

If you are interested in the expedition, this is an excellent novel about it.

Boris Pasternak, the author of the classic Dr Zhivago, 'characterised his life as a fight with a reigning and triumphant triteness for a freely playing human talent'. He suffered a great deal and he was persecuted by the authorities, but, according to legend, Stalin said: 'Leave him in peace, he's a cloud dweller' and protected him from arrest. Instead, the love of his life, Olga Ivinskaya, his mistress for forty years, on whom he based his wonderful Lara, was punished by the totalitarian regime.

Incredibly brave, she was sent to the gulag and interrogated while pregnant with Pasternak's child, but she came out of her questioning 'victorious'. Olga spent many years in the gulag twice under horrendous conditions (she had to work in fields all day in baking heat or bitter heat and eat gruel) and never betrayed Boris Pasternak. She was constantly persecuted because of Boris, but she had wonderful inner strength, which shines through in this book.

This is a harrowing but well-written and moving book by Boris Pasternak's great-niece, but it is also the tale of an incredible writer, Pasternak'sfascinating love story with the real 'Lara' which is very similar to the one in the book and his struggles wth the regime. Anna Pasternak certainly describes the evils of the Soviet Union in great detail. Sometimes, it is hard to face the story but this is a must-read for anyone who loves Dr Zhivago.
I received this free ebook from Edelweiss in return for an honest review.Interview with Anna Pavlova

Saturday, February 11, 2017

This was written by a young schoolgirl who eventually went to Oxford and became a journalist. It's extremely useful for anyone studying the fashions of the time and it has detailed illustrations. However, it's really a book for researchers.

I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

I read in Witnesses to the Revolution about a young student who complained that the 1917 revolution had begun with good intentions but unfortunately, it had been taken over by 'the dark people'. Rappaport's thoroughly researched and fascinating book provides evidence of this, but it mainly concerns the British and French in Russia who literally found themselves trapped in the revolution. She describes the British colony in Russia, the ambassadors and the journalists who watched as the country dramatically disintegrated.

It's quite a gruesome book - be warned. It is a myth that the February revolution was comparatively peaceful with little violence. Although it came 'like a thief in the night', chaos soon descended and the world became one of 'dilapidation, of demoralization and decay'. There were many reasons why Kerensky, who believed in orthodox socialism, ultimately lost control but in the end it was simply because the Bolsheviks were better organised with a 'definite political programme' and the government was not strong enough to put them down with force, as Sir George Buchanan, the British Ambassador had presciently warned.

My favourite characters in this book include Sit George Buchanan and his family. Sir George was a favourite of the Russians and he had even warned the Tsar that there would be trouble if he continued with his authoritarian government. Sir George stood like a rock amidst all the turmoil but he had to leave when Russia turned to anarchy after the Communists took over and he became one of the hated symbols of the hated capitalists. Rappaport writes vividly that they escaped during the darkness of another power cut, sneaking downstairs by flickering candlelight past portraits of British royalty while their Russian maids sobbed.

This is a must-read for anyone interested in Russian history.

I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

Friday, February 10, 2017

When the new American Embassy in Kiev asked Natalie to set up the economics section in 1992, she was very excited. She thought that Ukraine had a bright future because it was 'close to the rest of Europe, rich in various resources, had an educated population, ports, and so on'. She didn't think that you could ask for anything more. Now, as the Minister for Finance she wants to help solve the country's deep problems. The war with Russia is ruining a country already burdened with terrible debt and corruption.

Tim Judah travels through different parts of the country, the second-largest in Europe, to explain the origins of the war and how it is affecting people by means of interviews and descriptions of different districts and the info-wars. This war is based on maps and history, for example, most of the east, south and Crimea speak Russian and many of the people in these areas are sympathetic with the Russians. Many of them even wonder how they ended up Ukranian. Apparently, Russia is taking advantage of the fascist elements in Ukraine's past to accuse all of those fighting against them of being reincarnated Nazis, according to Judah. Many of the rebels also believe that Stalin was great and that everything 'has gone to hell in a handcart since the end of the Soviet Union'.

This is an extremely depressing book, but it did help me to have a clearer understanding of the origins of the war and the problems in Ukraine.

I received this free ebook from Blogging for Books in return for an honest review.

About Me

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My book, Eczema and Atopic Dermatits: The Best Websites has recently been published. I've also had many articles published, but I'd like to write more non-fiction books and, of course, a novel!
My articles can be seen at many websites, including Life in Italy, Crescent Blues, Paris Eiffel Tower Newsletter, and France This Way.